101 days 34 minutes 22 seconds
A failed suicide, a failed writer, and a failed husband, Ches is tragically depressed—that is, until, he finds his muse in punk-rocker/militia-marketer/free-spirited Thalia. Ches is haunted by Thalia’s ghost—or perhaps a hallucination—and obsessed with writing her story…but due to his increasingly erratic behavior, he is quickly self-destructing. The pressures of public school IT work, a middle school revolution, an ex-wife, a crazed father, and an emotional crime spree culminate in a fantastic meta twist, creating a surprising end to this fabulously witty dark comedy.
The Author is Dead is a deliciously metafictional romp that weds ennui and action to tell a gripping story. Definitely, a horse of a different color, read it to believe it.
Those who have attempted something artistic, only to find themselves tempted by a sea of impulsive despair over the eternal-seeming war between art and commerce, will identify head-over-heels with the tragicomic sojourn of Ches Smith’s metafictional protagonist.
The Author is Dead is a disquieting, engrossing read, making you wonder how much of it is fact and how much is fiction. Ches Smith definitely has the writing chops to keep you reading while you try to figure it out.
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